Pros
1. No office politics, no inter-departmental BS....just focus on getting the job done. 2. People are capable and highly focused, no slackers acting as dead weight. 3. Focal reviews are very honest, no beating around the bush. If you suck, you are told so and how to fix it. 4. Management at all levels is approachable and down to earth. 5. All first, second tier managers are hands-on, no paper pushers. 6. If there is a serious issue, everyone jumps on board to help and no finger point on who caused the issue. 7. Talking with co-workers over lunch in company cafeteria, opportunity to bond and just chill for 30 minutes. 8. No where else can you tell your boss that he's full of s**t while debating a technical issue then 30 minutes later both of you are having lunch with fellow co-workers hearing about funny stories from their weekend. No one takes anything personal and most people are passionate about doing the "right thing" to solve an issue. 9. Your boss will always work harder/longer than you, walking out of a lab blurry eyed at 11:00pm you send an e-mail to your boss, before you get your coat on, there's already an e-mail reply from him and your desk phone is ringing. 10. Strong team effort, outside of the Marine Corps I don't know anyplace else where everyone in a group will go the extra step to help other members of the team without having a manager being involved.
Cons
1. Schedules and work load are very demanding, always a struggle to maintain work/home balance. 2. Need understanding spouses who will put up with either always being on VPN or working late at the office. 3. E-mail is crushing, sheer volume is crazy. 4. Most of the year you are blacked out from selling/buying any shares in the company. Stock always takes irrational wild gyrations during blackout periods and you can't take advantage of it. But that's the downside of having truly honest and informative company meetings. 5. Obsession with cost control gets silly sometimes.